SECURITY Plus Renewal Guide: CEUs and Options 2026

Why CompTIA Security+ Renewal Actually Matters

Earning CompTIA Security+ is a genuine milestone. It demonstrates that you can handle real tasks across Security Operations, threat mitigation, security architecture, and program oversight - the exact competencies that government agencies, managed service providers, defense contractors, and enterprise IT teams recruit for. But the certificate printed with your name has an expiration date baked into it: three years from the date you pass.

That expiration is not arbitrary. Cybersecurity moves fast. The SY0-701 version launched in November 2023, replacing SY0-601, precisely because the threat landscape shifted enough to require a curriculum overhaul. When your cert expires without renewal, you lose the credential entirely - there is no grace period that keeps you listed as certified in CompTIA's verification system.

For professionals whose employers, contracts, or DoD 8570/8140 compliance requirements depend on active Security+ status, a lapsed cert is more than an administrative inconvenience. It can affect your clearance eligibility mapping, your job title, or your ability to bill certain government work. Understanding your renewal options well before your expiration date is therefore not optional - it is part of owning the credential responsibly.

The Basics: 50 CEUs in 3 Years

CompTIA operates a Continuing Education (CE) program that lets you renew Security+ without retaking the exam. The requirement is straightforward: earn and submit 50 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) within your three-year certification period.

CEUs are logged through CompTIA's online CE portal (CertMaster CE). You upload documentation - certificates of completion, transcripts, conference agendas - and CompTIA reviews and approves each submission. Once you hit 50 approved CEUs and pay the annual CE fee, your certification clock resets for another three years.

A few mechanics to understand upfront:

• You do not need to earn all 50 CEUs at once. CEUs accumulate across the full three-year window. Earning 15 or 20 per year and submitting them as you go is perfectly valid and keeps you from scrambling in year three.
• CEUs must be relevant to the IT or cybersecurity field. CompTIA is lenient in definition here, but a ceramics workshop will not qualify. Activities tied to the Security+ domain content are always safe bets.
• The annual CE fee applies regardless of which renewal path you choose, unless you let the cert lapse and start over.
• If you hold multiple CompTIA certifications, some CEUs can be shared across them under your CertMaster CE account, but each cert has its own CEU threshold.

CEU Categories That Count Toward Security+

CompTIA recognizes a wide range of activities as valid CEU sources. The categories below are the most practical for Security+ holders, mapped to the kinds of work that directly reinforces your certification's domain content.

The most efficient single-source option for many Security+ holders is CompTIA's own CertMaster CE for Security+ - an online, self-paced course that satisfies the full 50 CEU requirement in one enrollment. It covers all five Security+ domains and generates an automatic completion certificate you submit directly in your CE account.

The Retake Path: Renewing by Re-Examining

If you prefer a clean slate - or if your job role has shifted and you want to validate current knowledge - you can simply retake the Security+ exam. Passing a current version of the exam (SY0-701 as of 2026) resets your three-year clock exactly as if you earned the cert for the first time.

What that means practically: you book through Pearson VUE (at a test center or via online proctored delivery), pay the current voucher price (around $425 in the U.S., with regional pricing variation), sit the 90-minute, up-to-90-question exam, and achieve a passing score of 750 on the 100-900 scale. No CEU submission. No documentation. The cert renews automatically upon passing.

This path makes sense if:

• You have not kept up with CEU logging and are approaching expiration with a deficit.
• You want to confirm you are current with SY0-701's domain structure rather than relying on legacy knowledge from a prior version.
• You find exam preparation more motivating and structured than hunting for qualifying training hours.

Before choosing the retake path, revisit where the exam's weight sits. Security Operations carries 28% of the exam - the largest single domain - followed by Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations at 22%, and Security Program Management and Oversight at 20%. General Security Concepts (12%) and Security Architecture (18%) complete the blueprint. Your prep time should reflect those proportions.

SY0-701 also includes performance-based questions (PBQs), which simulate real tasks like configuring firewall rules, analyzing packet captures, or identifying misconfigurations in a network diagram. These are not guessable with test-taking tricks. See our detailed breakdown of SECURITY Plus Performance-Based Questions: How to Pass to approach those items with a clear strategy before exam day.

Renewing With a Higher-Level CompTIA Cert

CompTIA's certification hierarchy creates a built-in renewal shortcut: earning a qualifying higher-level CompTIA certification automatically renews Security+ without requiring separate CEU submissions for it. This is one of the most underused paths among mid-career professionals.

The certs that renew Security+ automatically include:

• CySA+ (CS0-003) - CompTIA's cybersecurity analyst credential, which directly extends the threat detection and security operations skills covered in Security+ Domains 2 and 4.
• CASP+ (CAS-004) - The advanced practitioner-level cert. Passing CASP+ renews Security+ and CySA+ simultaneously.
• PenTest+ (PT0-002) - Renews Security+ and is relevant for professionals moving toward offensive security roles.
• CYSA+, CASP+, Cloud+, and other active CompTIA certs at or above Security+ level generally qualify - verify the current CE renewal chart on CompTIA's site, as the list is version-controlled.

This path is ideal if you were planning to pursue a higher cert anyway. Rather than spending 50 CEU-hours on webinars and training courses, you invest that time in preparation for a credential that advances your career, and Security+ renewal is a side effect.

Mapping Your CEUs to Security+ Domains

Not all CEU-eligible activities are created equal for Security+ holders. The most defensible and professionally valuable approach is to select training and education activities that map directly to the five SY0-701 domains. This ensures your continuing education is genuinely updating your skills, not just logging hours.

CompTIA CE Program Mechanics and Costs

Participation in CompTIA's CE program requires an active account in CertMaster CE, CompTIA's online CE management portal. Here is how the mechanics work end to end:

1. Enroll in the CE program through your CompTIA certification account. This is separate from exam registration and is done post-certification.
2. Log activities as you complete them. Each activity submission requires documentation: a certificate of completion, a conference attendance receipt, a college transcript, or a letter from a trainer. Keep these files organized as you go - reconstructing three years of documentation in the final month is painful.
3. CompTIA reviews submissions. Approval is generally straightforward for clearly relevant activities with proper documentation. Borderline activities (general business courses, non-security IT topics) may be questioned.
4. Pay the annual CE fee. CompTIA charges an annual maintenance fee of $50. This covers all certifications under your umbrella - Security+, Network+, A+, and any others you hold are all covered by the single fee.
5. Renewal triggers automatically once you have 50 approved CEUs and are current on the fee. Your expiration date advances three years from your prior expiration (not from the renewal date).

One important note: if you let your cert lapse - expiration date passes with insufficient CEUs - you cannot submit retroactively. You must retake and pass the current exam version to reinstate the credential. There is no late submission window.

For candidates who are still in the exam preparation phase and want to understand how the exam itself is structured before thinking about renewal, our Security+ practice test platform covers all five SY0-701 domains with questions that mirror the actual exam format, including performance-based items.

Scheduling Your Renewal Year by Year

The most common renewal failure mode is procrastination. Three years feels like a long time when you pass the exam, and it is - right until the final three months, when it suddenly is not. A simple year-by-year framework prevents this entirely.

For those who find themselves needing to retake the exam in year three, the preparation approach is no different from the first attempt. Start with the domains that carry the most weight - Security Operations and Threats and Vulnerabilities together represent exactly half the exam. Use full-length Security+ practice tests to identify specific gaps before investing time in broad review. Our article on the SECURITY Plus Renewal Guide: CEUs and Options 2026 is the comprehensive reference you can bookmark and return to throughout your three-year cycle.

Whichever renewal path you take, treat the process as a professional obligation rather than a bureaucratic hurdle. The domains covered by Security+ - especially the 28% weight on Security Operations and the 20% on Security Program Management and Oversight - directly reflect what employers expect working security professionals to maintain proficiency in. Renewal keeps your credential credible because it keeps your knowledge current.

If you want to sharpen your understanding of the exam's trickiest format before a retake, our guide to SECURITY Plus Performance-Based Questions: How to Pass walks through exactly what these simulation-style items look like and how to approach them without losing time.

Frequently Asked Questions